Heavy metal Soil contamination Tin mine Tungsten mine Vietnam Arsenic Clay minerals Copper Erosion Heavy metals
Issue Date:
2009
Publisher:
Water, Air, and Soil Pollution
Citation:
Volume: 197, Issue: 4-Jan, Page : 75-89
Abstract:
This study assessed the arsenic and heavy metal contaminations of agricultural soils around the tin
and tungsten mining areas in Dai Tu district in northern Vietnam. Among the examined elements, high total
contents of As and Cu were found in the agricultural fields at both tin and tungsten mining sites. Although
the major part of the accumulated As and Cu were bound by various soil constituents such as Fe and Mn
oxides, organic matter, and clay minerals, increases in water soluble As and Cu were observed, especially
for the paddy fields. The results suggest that, in the studied area, As and Cu dispersion from their pollution
sources into farmlands is mainly via fluvial transportation of mine waste through streams that cross the
paddy fields around the tin mining area, and soil erosion at the tea fields located at lower positions of the
slope in the tungsten mining area. ?? 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
